Shhh...Shut Up and Just Listen Will U?

We have a pair of ears for the purpose of listening to external sounds , what people have to say to us, but most of the time, we listen to ourselves more than anything else. And we want ourselves to be HEARD constantly by saying our sides of the stories , but have we, tried and listen genuinely what others have to say?

Hush for the moment and listen please.

Today a few floormates gathered in my room for a chit-chat. After several weeks of not seeing one another, we had so much to tell each other. And far too eager at that. A friend was relating to us her trip home to China , how she felt it was extra cold this year after getting used to the weather here, and how she got frost-bitten. While telling her stories, a floormate intercepted and started to tell animatedly her experience in China when she went for a trip there last october, without first letting the girl finish her story. And, for heaven's sake, the poor gal is frost-bitten all over, and she didn't even show a wisp of concern. She was just waiting for her turn to SAY SOMETHING.

And for so many times, when i go out with friends in a group, i start to realise certain people are just self-obsessed story-tellers. They only talk about themselves, what they did, with all the dramatic actions and flailing of hands, trying to garner sympathy with all the self-pity. When it is FINALLY the time for others to talk after they have told the entire history from when our ancestors were still apes to how they end up to be now, they have used up all the energy and become too weak to listen to what others have to say. They start to show disinterested faces, their gazes fleet to other things instead of focusing on the person telling things, basically their show is over and they SHUT-DOWN.Unless the topic reminds them of something which happened to THEMSELVES , only then their dull eyes start to show sparkles as they impatiently pounce into :" Ya....that happened to me too! How awfullll! U know, it was..."

Second reminder: Just Shut-Up and Listen wiil u?

Sometimes, things are more complicated than having simply the will to listen. ALot of times we lack the "ability" to catch the true intentions of what others have to say because we are blinded by our own pre-conceived judgments, opinions about things, so whatever other people have to say to us, we will never accept them. Our ability is subconsciously being 'handicapped'by our prejudice.

Third reminder, for goodness'sake,put aside ur prejudice and LISTEN !

Today i think i made the mistake of not listening to the best i could. Had tried to help a friend to look for something that he needs at a store. During the course of looking at the specific good that he wants, i found an alternative which i thought would be a much better choice for him and was in a way trying to tell him to get this one instead. Despite so, he was very convinced that he still wants his initial choice while i prefer the alternative and we had small debate, haha. Then i realised maybe I wans't listening to his needs hard enough, i was using my needs as inference of what he MAY need. Eventhough the motive is a good one, but i fall short to realise he probably knows what his needs best and i should just respect his decision.

I think I ought to learn the art of zipping up my mouth and let my ears do some work instead.